


Roach

by gotfanfiction



Series: Twitter nonsense [11]
Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Animal Death, But only if you squint really really hard, Gen, His Girls Will Bite For Him, It's a little shippy at the end, Touch-Starved Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:34:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26534440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gotfanfiction/pseuds/gotfanfiction
Summary: He looked over at Roach, who, as usual, was unimpressed with him, and unable to answer him when he asked, "What the fuck do I do now?"
Series: Twitter nonsense [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2024782
Comments: 22
Kudos: 86





	Roach

**Author's Note:**

> Another drabble prompt fill, this one from @annablumedraws
> 
> Enjoy!

To anyone but a Witcher the sound would have gone unnoticed. Geralt blinked when he heard it, barely discernible over the general noise of people and animals moving around. A quiet mewling, somewhere off to the left. 

To the left he went, Roach plodding along beside him, into the space between two buildings, cluttered with trash and mysterious liquids that Geralt wished he couldn't smell as well as he could. 

It stank like decay, but not overtly so. Geralt wasn't surprised to see a cat laying next to the wall, ribs kicked in, with a single, filthy, kitten next to her, crying. It would be a mercy, really, to kill the little thing quickly, rather than let it starve next to its dead mother. 

The cries cut off when the kitten spotted him, and instead of scrambling off in fear the thing walked right up to him, mewling, and tried to climb his boot. Geralt stared at it as it did it's best to shimmy up his leg, barely feeling the pricks of tiny claws. 

It must have been too hungry to care what he smelled like. He grabbed it before it could fall and hurt itself, and the kitten went limp in his hand, gnawing on his thumb. 

Geralt had no idea what to do with a cat, especially not one this small, or this starved. He looked over at Roach, who, as usual, was unimpressed with him, and unable to answer him when he asked, "What the fuck do I do now?"

*--*

He was starting to suspect that something was wrong with this kitten. She was never afraid of him, preferred, actually, to ride around on his shoulder and chew on his hair. He'd spent a week catching cat naps -ha!- in between feeding the thing, but she hadn't been as young as he had thought, just undersized.

Judging by the size of her feet and ears she wouldn't be staying small, and him feeding her raw bits of rabbits and birds before he cooked them for himself had her growing like a very fuzzy weed. He would tell himself every morning that this would be the day he dropped her off to be someone's mouser, or barn cat, or pampered house pet, but she would rub her face into his cheeks, purring loudly, kneading at his chest, her customary wake up call, and he would fold every time.

Soon enough she was hunting for herself, bringing back whatever she killed and showing it to him, waiting until he nodded and smiled before she dug in. Geralt bought a small comb, inlaid with smooth pebbles, simple but lovely, and it was almost as good as a full night's rest, carefully teasing the tangles from her long fur, her purring like a small thunderstorm, now, fully grown. 

She had a few streaks of white staggered through her rich chestnut fur, three white feet and one black, and her eyes were a bright green that caught the light in strange ways. He'd never seen a cat quite so large, or quite so fluffy. 

He named her Roach. Geralt was never very good at naming things, anyways, and he had honestly thought she would die during the first few days, and by the time he was sure she would pull through she was already responding to it, so he decided to just keep it. 

Little Roach and Big Roach got on very well, to his endless relief, the cat often found perched on her namesake, attempting to groom her very large friend. Geralt would ride while Little Roach would nap in her specially made seat, which was really just a saddlebag tied down extra firmly, and stuffed with the silk blouse Jaskier had left behind that Geralt had never bothered getting rid of.

He was just glad cat fur didn't stick to leather the way it did to… everything else. 

*--*

"And who is  _ this _ gorgeous lady, here?" Jaskier dodged the swipe with a grin, unoffended. Roach wasn't hissing, so Geralt let it be; if she clawed him it would be his own damn fault. 

"Roach." Geralt reached out, and she stretched up into his hand, lifting her chin in a silent demand for scratches. "Found her, decided to keep her." 

Jaskier gave him a look of utter disbelief. "Geralt, did you really name your cat after your horse?" 

"It's not like I can't tell who's who."

"Oh! That is  _ not _ the point!" 

Geralt was smiling, one Roach purring under his hand and the other whuffing at Jaskier's pocket for treats. He knew that Jaskier would have both of his girls happy to see him before too long, the bard seeing no problem with bribing his way into their affections. 

Jaskier spotted him right away, his mostly insincere affront melting into a smile of his own. "Shouldn't have expected anything else from you, hm?"

Geralt shrugged at him, plopped Roach into her sack so she'd be out of the way while he slung himself into his saddle, Jaskier already plucking at his lute. He was still smiling as they set off, Jaskier chatting at Roach, her meowing as if in response. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi @gotfanfiction on twitter ;>


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